


The Return of the Jedi

by atamascolily



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, First Love, Fluff, Movie Night, Star Wars - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:07:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23705854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atamascolily/pseuds/atamascolily
Summary: One of the things Mike Wheeler loves best about Eleven are all the firsts. The first pizza they ate together, shoulders hunched with cheese dripping down their mouths, chowing down like there was no tomorrow; the first dance at the Snow Ball, the first kiss. By definition, there can only be one first, so fleeting and finite. But introducing El to all his favorite movies is the gift that keeps on giving.Mike and El watchStar Warstogether. It turns out to be a metaphor for life.
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33





	The Return of the Jedi

**Author's Note:**

> Characters from other media talking about _Star Wars_ is one of my favorite fic genres. This fic begins between S2 and S3, in early 1985 when Mike and El are first dating, and ends in winter 1985, post-S3. 
> 
> _The Empire Strikes Back_ came out on VHS in November 1984. _Return of the Jedi_ came out in theaters on May 25, 1983, before the start of S1, and on VHS in February 1986.

One of the things Mike Wheeler loves best about Eleven are all the firsts. The first pizza they ate together, shoulders hunched with cheese dripping down their mouths, chowing down like there was no tomorrow; the first dance at the Snow Ball, the first kiss. By definition, there can only be one first, so fleeting and finite. But introducing El to all his favorite movies is the gift that keeps on giving. 

She won't play D&D with him - she doesn't see the point and honestly, he can't blame her. Why blast imaginary fireballs when you can levitate two-thousand pound van with your mind? El already _has_ powers; she doesn't need to pretend. Besides, the rest of the party isn't ready for it--it's been the four of them for so long they'd need more time to get used to a new member, even if El was interested, which she isn't. Max jokes now and then about showing up and making a character sheet for the non-existent "Zoomer" class, but it's all talk so far. 

But El _loves_ movies. She spent most of 1984 doing nothing but watching the tiny-screened, barely-in-color TV in Hopper's cabin as her only link to the outside world. It kept her sane, filled in some of the gaps that a career as a secret research subject left in her knowledge. So they watch them together now, and there are so many movies El hasn't seen that they will never run out of firsts.

Taking her on real date to the movie theater is out, of course, but the Byers have a VCR player in their living room, and Will's mom and big brother Jonathan already know about El. So he doesn't even have to smuggle her in like he did when she lived in the blanket fort in his basement. If Will's mom is home, she even makes popcorn for them. (She's cool like that.)

So Jonathan rents them a bunch of movies, and every weekend Mike catch El up on his favorites, which he hopes will become her favorites, too. _The Dark Crystal_. _The Karate Kid_. And, of course, _Star Wars_.

El blinks at the opening crawl, parsing the words in slow motion, but her jaw drops when she sees the Star Destroyer hovering in space, just like magic. The black silhouette of Darth Vader makes her frown and grip Mike's shoulder, but the antics of Artoo-Deetoo and Threepio draw a crooked smile. By the time Princess Leia is captured, El's completely absorbed in the galaxy far, far away and there is no turning back. 

(It helps to have an appreciative audience to watch with. Mike and the rest of the party quote their favorite lines along with the actors, occasionally acting out a particularly good bit in front of the television. And popcorn never, _ever_ hurts.) 

When old Ben Kenobi lectures Luke about the Force, she leans in and listens closely, a puzzled expression on her face. And when the remote levitates--and Luke pulls the blast helmet over his eyes to block the bolts--she nods in understanding. 

The Force isn't some alien thing for her. It's as real as breathing, the way she crooks her finger and a Coke can crumples across the room, how the lights turn on and off when she's too lazy to reach for the switch. El understands the Force, even if it's not quite the same as what she does. And she understands implicitly than there are _rules_ , and they _matter_. And you use them to save the world, of course. 

So they have to watch _The Empire Strikes Back_ next, which Jonathan helpfully brought along with the first film for a double feature. El loves watching Luke train in the Dagobah swamps, even though his education is so different from hers. Mike can feel her vibrate with excitement where she's leaning on his shoulder when Luke lifts the rocks with his mind in a one-armed handstand. But she sits bolt upright, staring at the screen as if she's seen a ghost, when Yoda monologues about calm, about the Dark Side, about failure. 

"That's not what Kali said," she mutters.

She's told him about Kali, snippets here and there, but Mike's still fuzzy on all the details. "What?" 

"She said I needed to be angry. To channel my anger if I wanted to..." El gestures to the screen. "Move _big_ stuff with my mind. Not calm. Not like _that_." 

"We-ell..." Mike's not a mage, not the way El is, but that doesn't sound right to him, and Yoda ought to know what he's talking about. He's a Jedi Master, after all. Still, who is he to judge? "I don't know, have you tried it?" 

"Pipe down, you two, I love this part and you're _ruining_ it!" Lucas interjects from the other side of the couch--hypocrite--as if he hasn't been chatting just as loudly with Max the whole time. El and Mike roll their eyes at each other, but desist, their fingers meeting in mostly empty popcorn bowl where no one else can see. 

El clucks in sympathy when Luke can't get the X-wing out of the swamp--then frowns when Yoda does it himself. "Maybe there's something to calm after all..." she says under her breath, where only Mike can hear, shooting a nasty look at Lucas. 

That's not the only source of contention in this movie. "Lando," El says, her eyes narrowing, when they get to the Cloud City, as the reference hits. 

Dustin shrugs sheepishly from his place on the floor. "Yeah, well... we were wrong about that with you." 

(Part of friendship is knowing when not to say _I told you so_ , but it's so damn hard for Mike to keep his mouth shut, especially when Will mouths "Lando?" at him, and he can't even explain why it's a bad time to explain.)

"Good," El says, mollified, and the tension in the room drops dramatically. El can be scary when she's mad, but Mike is fascinated by it, the same way that thunderstorms and tornadoes and horror movies get under his skin--as long as it's not aimed at him. Maybe this Kali person is right after all. 

The ending--Luke and Leia watching the galaxy from the medical frigate, mourning a frozen Han--catches El off guard. "That's it? It just ends?" she asks, puzzled. "Where's the rest of it?" 

Over in the corner, Jonathan Byers looks up from his camera bag and shrugs. "Don't look at me," he says. "They didn't have the last one at the video store." 

"Right," Mike babbles. He's talking too fast, the way he always does when he's excited, but he can't seem to slow down when he's around El. " _Return of the Jedi_ came out in theaters two years ago, but it's not on VHS yet. I can't wait for you to see it--it's supposed to be out next February in a special box set--" 

But everything changes over the summer. First Hopper threatens to murder him if he doesn't stay away from El, and El dumps him for not wanting to get murdered. Then the Mind-Flayer returns and takes over Max's brother Billy--though they don't find this out until the ranks of the Flayed have grown exponentially, and try to kill El--and all hell _really_ breaks loose, with a lot of people dead and the Starcourt Mall in ruins. 

When the dust finally settles, Hopper is missing (presumed dead) and El's lost her powers completely. Things are awkward and strange between the two of them now, especially since they're technically still not dating anymore. He still loves her, but... it's different now, and he doesn't want to make her life harder than it already is by pushing his way back to where he used to be. 

It's enough to be her friend, he tells himself, to take care of her as best he can, even if she doesn't want him as a boyfriend anymore. As long as he can stay with her, make sure she's all right, that's all that matters. 

El moves in with the Byers, and things go back to a weird kind of normal for a while, with a lot of new firsts, even if they're not as nice as the old ones. Then Will's mom announces that all four of them will be moving at the beginning of October, and the only thing left are lasts: the last dinner at the Byers' house with the whole party together, the last hug before the moving van pulls away, the last kiss in the empty bedroom when she surprises him yet again by announcing she still loves him after all. 

"We can watch _Return of the Jedi_ when I come to visit for spring break," Mike says a few weeks later, during their daily chat over the radio. He had to set up an entire new unit to link his home to Dustin's Cerebro so he doesn't have to sit up on Weathertop in the cold every night, but it's so worth it. The phone would easier, but anybody can listen in, and neither of them like that.

"I'd like that," El says. 

There's a wistful note in her voice that makes his ears perk up--something's bothering her, something she's reluctant to bring up. 

"El?" he coaxes. "You okay?" 

A long pause. "I've been thinking... about Luke Skywalker a lot since this summer. He lost his hand--and his lightsaber--and his father came back, but he turned out to be a monster--and everyone lied to him his whole life. And he was in the hospital at the end, with Han missing, and...I just don't know... how he's gonna come back from that." 

Oh. Mike sees the problem now. She's not really worried about Luke at all--it's what he represents. "Don't worry, he does, but it takes a while! An entire year passes before _Return of the Jedi_ starts, and by the time the movie start's he's back and more bitchin' than ever." _Bitchin'_ is one of El's favorite words, and he never passes up an opportunity to use it around her. "Gets a black outfit, makes a new lightsaber--looks real good. You're gonna love it, I promise." 

"Mike?" El sounds like she's about to cry. "I mean, it's a movie, it's not real, but do you think I can--do you think I will--" 

"Of course you will," Mike says, with utter confidence. "Your powers will come back. You can't lose them. They're a part of you. Remember what Master Yoda said? When you're at calm... at peace... you'll know. You just have to be patient. Just like Luke. You'll see." 

A shaky laugh. "You think so?" 

"I _know_ so," Mike says fervently.


End file.
